# Boron Nitride Reinforced Supramolecular Gels Nano‐Assembled with Fungicides toward Soil‐Borne Fungal Disease Management

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method using boron nitride to create gels that release fungicides more effectively and sustainably for soil-borne disease control.

## Contribution

The study pioneers the use of h-BN-reinforced supramolecular gels for stimuli-responsive, precision fungicide delivery in soil.

## Key findings

- h-BN-reinforced gels significantly extend tebuconazole retention time in soil by 14.69 times compared to free fungicide.
- The gels show enhanced root-zone retention (41.45%) and improved efficacy against Sclerotium rolfsii with reduced phytotoxicity.
- Fluorescence analysis confirms better adhesion and rain resistance compared to commercial fungicide formulations.

## Abstract

To overcome limitations of conventional fungicides against soil‐borne diseases like southern blight, this study develops h‐BN‐reinforced supramolecular gels for precision tebuconazole (Teb) delivery. These gels are engineered organic solvent free via one‐step amino‐amide self‐assembly with polyprotic acids. h‐BN nanosheets embed uniformly within the gel matrices with narrowing pore distributions and enhancing mechanical stability. h‐BN's hydrophobicity, affinity for the gel's carbon chains, and π–π interactions with Teb collectively restricts Teb diffusion, reducing its cumulative release rate. The gels’ inherent pH and temperature‐responsive gel‐sol transitions enable dual stimuli‐responsive sustained fungicide release. The h‐BN reinforced carriers exhibit superior interfacial properties, reducing contact angles due to h‐BN's hydrophobicity and capillary channel formation. Fluorescence after rinsing confirms significantly boosted adhesion and rain resistance versus commercial formulations. Interactions with soil are tunable by h‐BN disrupted the supramolecular structure, exposing Teb for moderate soil adsorption while extending Teb retention time (940 min, 14.69 times longer than free Teb) and enhancing root‐zone retention (41.45% vs. 13.48% for commercial). Such system also shows superior efficacy against Sclerotium rolfsii (EC
50 reduced by 54.10%), achieving complete mycelial suppression in pot trials while promoting root growth. The nano‐assemble also reduces phytotoxicity. This work combines h‐BN's adhesive strength with supramolecular stimuli‐responsiveness for targeted, eco‐friendly disease management.

This work demonstrates of 2D material‐mediated stimuli‐responsive transport in soft matter systems, pioneers a new class of nano‐bridged carriers with mechanically strengthening and programmable permeability characteristics designed to overcome persistent barriers in soil‐borne disease management.